focus on books and resources

Retired church workers archive MC Canada history

Thousands of files languish in the basement of Mennonite Church Canada’s Winnipeg office, holding decades of history but forgotten by many. Jack, left, and Irene Suderman are bringing these records to light, reviewing and organizing them to be stored in the Mennonite Heritage Archives. (Photo by Nicolien Klassen-Wiebe)

Thousands of files languish in the basement of Mennonite Church Canada’s Winnipeg office, holding decades of history but forgotten by many. Irene and Jack Suderman are bringing these records to light, reviewing and organizing them to be stored in the Mennonite Heritage Archives (MHA).

Writer’s struggles offer reassurance to young mothers

The title of the book is never directly explained, but Zook finds herself licking peanut butter as a way of getting physical nourishment while rethinking the relationship between spirituality and the physical body.

When it comes to motherhood, Shari Zook asks, “Why don’t we get more training for the hardest job of our lives? Why do we feel that we have to do it alone?”

Because she is so open and honest about the challenges of raising young children, this book can provide comfort and reassurance for others who are feeling inadequate.

Recommended reads

(Photo by Aaron Epp)

(Photo by Aaron Epp)

“Rainy days,” Calvin and Hobbes cartoonist Bill Watterson once wrote, “should be spent at home with a cup of tea and a good book.”

As part of Canadian Mennonite’s biannual Focus on Books & Resources section, the magazine spoke with 14 people about the novels, poetry collections and non-fiction works that have impacted them. 

Finding connection through communion cups

When Lois Siemens travelled to Ukraine, she took several communion cups with her. Pictured are two communion cups in a former Mennonite church in Petershagen. (Photo by Lois Siemens)

The first stop Lois Siemens made in her communion photo project was at Springfield Heights Mennonite in Winnipeg. Here the cups are photographed on a ledge overlooking the sanctuary. (Photo by Lois Siemens)

While photographing in Altona (Man.) Mennonite Church, Lois Siemens met a woman who told her she had kept her communion cup from the Mennonite World Conference (MWC) assembly that was held in Winnipeg in 1990. This image shows the woman’s MWC cup framed by the MC Canada cups. (Photo by Lois Siemens)

Peace Mennonite is a house church that meets at the home of Florence and Otto Driedger in Regina. Lois Siemens noticed that even in this house church there was a place for children. (Photo by Lois Siemens)

Communion cups photographed in the pews at Eden Mennonite in Chilliwack, B.C. (Photo by Lois Siemens)

Communion cups nestle among candles at Hamilton (Ont.) Mennonite Church. (Photo by Alissa Bender)

What does one do with a cracker box full of used communion cups? This was the dilemma facing Lois Siemens as she drove from Saskatoon to Winnipeg in July 2016.

Shaped by our essential book

'What does it mean if we see the Bible as the book above other books?' (Image by StockSnap/Pixabay)

The name Arab Christians use for the Bible translates literally as “The Holy Book,” and they often shorten it to “The Book.” Article 4 of the Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective states: “The Bible is the essential book of the church.” What does it mean if we see the Bible as the book above

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